Door slam eliminator



Nov. 9, 1954 c. w. HATKE DOOR SLAM ELIMINATOR Filed July 2'7, 1953 INVENTOR. Char/es W. Haf/re ATTORNEY United States Patent DOGR SLAM ELIMINATOR Charles W. Hatke, Denver, Colo.

Application July 27, 1953, Serial No. 370,557

3 Claims. (Cl. 16-83) This invention relates to a door check or an antislamming device for screen doors and the like, and has for its principal object the provision of a simple, exceedingly economical, highly efficient, and easily applied d:- vice which will cushion the slam of a rapidly swinging door and allow it to come gently to rest in its frame, and which will not interfere in any way with a slowly closing door.

Another object is to so construct the device that it can be quickly and easily applied to a door and its frameby an unskilled person with the use of simple tools.

Other objects and advantages reside in the detail construction of the invention, which is designed for simplicity, economy, and efficiency. These will become more apparent from the following description.

In the following detailed description of the invention, reference is had to the accompanying drawing which forms a part hereof. Like numerals refer to like parts in all views of the drawing and throughout the description.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary, perspective view illustrating a portion of a door and its frame with the invention in place thereon;

Fig. 2 is a front view of a striker member employed with the improved door check;

Fig. 3 is a similar front view of a cushioning device employed with the striker of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a horizontal, longitudinal section through the improved door check, illustrating its position when checking a rapidly closing door; and i Fig. 5 is a similar view, illustrating the position of the elements of the improved door check when the door is closed.

In the drawing, a door frame has been indicated at 10, with its door-receiving rabbet at 11 and a conventional swinging door is indicated at 12.

The invention comprises two devices, a striker for attachment to the frame and a cushioning device for attachment to the door 12. The striker is illustrated in Fig. 2 and is formed from a band of relatively heavy sheet metal having a widened base portion 13 at one extremity. The band is bent outwardly from and over the base portion in U-shaped relation to the latter to form a striker arm 16 which is relatively narrower than the base portion 13. The extremity of the striker arm 16 projects outwardly beyond the extremity of the base portion 13 and is widened and turned outwardly at right angles to form a striking pad 17. The base portion 13 is provided with suitable screw openings 14 to receive suitable attachment screws 15 by means of which the striker is secured to the frame 10 adjacent the doorreceiving rabbet 11, as shown in Fig. 1.

The cushioning device comprises a base plate 18 turned upwardly at both extremities to form two circular end members 19. A U-shaped cover plate 20 extends between and around the circular end members 19 to form an elongated cylindrical ball housing in which a round resilient ball 21 of rubber or the like is freely positioned.

The base plate extends outwardly at both sides of the cover plate 20. A round screw hole 26 is forrned in one of the outwardly extending base portions, and an elon- 2,693,615 Fatented Nov. 9, 1954 gated screw hole 27 is formed in the other outwardly extending base portion.

The cover plate 20 is secured in place in any desired manner such as by means of tongues 22 which are formed on the end members 19 and extend through receiving slots 23 in the cover plate and are bent into locking relation with the latter. Additional securement is provided by forming additional tongues 24 on the side edges of the cover plate which extend through receiving slots 25 in the base plate and are bent thereunder. The cover plate 20 is provided with a striker-receiving opening 28 adjacent its one extremity. The opening 28 is of slightly less diameter than the diameter of the ball 21.

The cushioning device is secured to the door 12 by means of suitable screws 29, with the extremity containing the opening 28 directed toward the free edge of the door and with the opening 28 positioned to receive the striker pad 17. Before the screws 29 are finally tightened, the device is slightly inclined, the elongated slot 27 allowing for the incline adjustment, so that the ball will naturally roll inward by gravity to a position away from the striker opening 28. The screws 29 are then tightened to permanently secure the inclined check in place. The check and its striker are positioned in horizontal alignment so that when the door is closed, the striker will enter the opening 28.

Let us assume that the door 12 is swinging rapidly to the closed position. The centrifugal force of the swinging door will carry the ball 21 outwardly to a position opposite the striker opening 28 so that when the door approaches its closed position, the resilient ball 21 will strike the striker pad 17, as shown in Fig. 4, td provide a soft, cushioning action to stop the swing of the door. The door will then bounce slightly away from the ball 21 to free the latter and allow it to roll downwardly in the cover plate 20 away from the striker pad 17, as shown in Fig. 5. This allows the door to completely close without obstruction.

If the door is closed slowly by hand, the ball remains away from the striker opening 23 so that the check does not function. One of the end members 19 is provided with an opening 30 through which the action of the ball may be observed.

While a specific form of the improvement has been described and illustrated herein, it is to be understood that the same may be varied within the scope of the appended claims, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

l. A device for checking a door when the latter is swinging into its frame comprising: a ball channel member adapted to be mounted on said door; a freely rolling, resilient ball in said channel member; a striker adapted to be secured to said frame in horizontal alignment with said channel member, said channel member being provided with an opening for receiving said striker so that the latter may enter said opening to engage said resilient ball; and means securing said channel member to the door in an inclined position so that when said door is at rest, said ball will roll away from said opening to allow said striker to enter said channel member unopposed.

2. A door check as described in claim 1 having means gor varying the incline of said channel member on said oor.

3. A door check as described in claim 2, said striker comprising: a base plate adapted to be secured to said frame; and a striker arm extending outwardly and over said base plate and beyond the forward extremity thereof so that it may enter the opening in said channel member.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,733,108 Bienaime Oct. 29, 1929 1,869,415 Fulton Aug. 2, 1932 

